Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State voting at his Amube Ohom Ward 2 polling station in Orba, Udenu

...NANS hails peaceful conduct of LG poll in Enugu

A former governor of Enugu State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC , Sullivan Chime, has called for the cancellation of the Local Government elections held in the state on Saturday.

Speaking to journalists at his Udi residence, Chime said, “Sadly and very unfortunately, I think we have gone back to the ancient days. The sensitive materials were not there; the result sheets were not there.

"A situation where you have card-carrying members of the PDP serving as electoral officials is not right. They were moving from place to place telling people who to vote for.

“I did not see anything resembling free and fair elections. Thugs were brought to some polling units, and if not for the intervention of men of the DSS, maybe the situation would have degenerated to violence.

"To say the least, it was so disheartening; that was not what I expected. No elections held today; they should reschedule the elections and get it right.”

But the PDP officials dismissed his claim saying the exercise went well in most council areas despite delay in the arrival of materials.

At Nkanu west Local government area, voting ended at about 4:30 pm in some places while some others were still voting when Journalists visited.

Speaking with journalists, the PDP chairmanship candidate for the election Mr Henry Ikechukwu Okenwa said that the election was peaceful and as such attracted good turn out during voting.

According to him, "people turn out enmass to cast their votes. No such thing as ballot box snatching and other forms of electoral violence was witnessed in the area".

Okenwa appreciated the effort of the state Governor for ensuring that duly elected officials are enthroned in local government councils in Enugu state.

He criticized the opposition political parties for not preparing for the election in terms of mobilization and sensitisation adding that it was a great advantage to the PDP.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has commended the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) for organizing peaceful Local Government Elections in Enugu State, in spite of some failed plots to undermine the exercise.

Speaking after monitoring the elections in the state, the National President of NANS, Comrade Chinonso Obasi, told journalists that they were pleased with the conduct of the elections, applauding Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for providing an enabling environment, which he said gave the electorate the opportunity to exercise their franchise.

NANS President explained that despite the complaints by the oppositions over the alleged late arrival of election materials, which they intervened by making suggestions to ENSIEC, their observations from the polling units visited showed that the exercise was successful, peaceful and in accordance with the commission’s guidelines.

He, however, requested ENSIEC to extend the voting time to accommodate willing voters, a suggestion which the electoral body complied with by extending the polls till 5pm.

“We are so glad for the peaceful conduct of this Local Government Elections in Enugu State and we thank the governor for this feat, at least the people are voting and the process is ongoing and we will continue our independent monitoring to enable us give a comprehensive report”, the NANS President said.

Also speaking, the state chairman of NANS, Comrade Chidi Ilogede, accused those he described as “opponents of the Peoples Democratic Party of being behind some of the challenges encountered during the exercise in a failed attempt to discredit the elections”, calling on the security agencies to investigate and fish out those behind the explosions.

The ENSIEC had organized Local Government elections across the 17 Local Government Areas and 260 electoral wards in the state to elect those who will be at the helm of the council areas as chairmen and councilors, and the results are being awaited.